Your Favorite Local Elected Official

After an eight-year gap, Eau Claire City Councilman Andrew Werthmann was once again voted by readers as their Favorite Local Elected Official. Werthmann, who was elected to the council in 2009 and served as acting council president from summer 2018 until last spring, is also an elected member of the Democratic National Committee. Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer, a Republican, has been the county’s top law-enforcement officer since 1996, and he’s popular enough that he was re-elected without opposition in 2018. Joe Luginbill, a former Eau Claire school board member, placed third. Luginbill’s abrupt resignation last fall – coupled with recent revelations that he allegedly left town without paying bills, imperiling several charitable projects – means voters may have a different opinion of him now than they did when this year’s voting took place in December. – Tom Giffey